Entry #1848: 20th Carnival of the Blue

Welcome to the 20th Carnival of the Blue. For CotB readers who are wondering why I’m hosting this because you’ve never seen the Biomes Blog before, I do contribute each month but I post my marine life essays over at Daily Kos and just link to them from here.

For the rest of you who may not have heard of a blog carnival before, they are basically a collection of posts by various contributors who blog about a common topic. In this case about the oceans. You can read wiki’s short page on blog carnivals here. Thanks to Mark Powell over at Blogfish for founding the Carnival of the Blue and keeping it going all these months.

I’ll get my submission, about Eunice the Bristle Worm, out of the way first before moving on to the good stuff. Below is Eunice, all three feet of her.

So, here are the rest of this month’s carnies, in the order posts were received:

Sheril Kirshenbaum at The Intersection has a linky post about efforts by the thankfully-outgoing-but-it-really-can’t-be-soon-enough Bush administration to mess with fisheries legislation intended to protect wild stocks.

Ken Peterson and The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Notes Blog celebrates the appointment of Dr. Jane Lubchenco, a true ocean champion, as the new NOAA administrator by President-elect Barack Obama. She’s a great scientist and friend of the oceans (and, oh yes, a former member of the aquarium’s board of directors!).

Is the Chilean sea bass fishery sustainable or not? This species tops most “off limits” lists of seafood to avoid for ecological reasons. One Smithsonian researcher feels we can eat this fish guilt-free, but Miriam Goldstein, of the Oyster’s Garter, has her doubts. Watch for fisheries economist Chris Anderson pipe in in the comments section. Chris works at the University of Rhode Island, a school that is about three miles from where I am writing this post.

 

In the credit where credit is due file, Mark Powell has a post over at Blogfish called “George Bush, environmental Hero?”. In an otherwise dark eight years for environmental policy, the creation and expansion of marine parks and ocean conservation areas is a bright spot in Bush’s legacy.

Canada announced last month its intentions for a kinder and gentler annual seal hunt.  Or did they?  It all depends on where you draw the line. Rick MacPherson takes a look at the new rules with a post called “Line drawing and the Canadian seal hunt” on the awesomely named blog Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice and Sunsets. But you’ll need to decide for yourself how acceptable the new “stun, check and bleed” policy for the slaughter really is.

And that's this month's Carnival of the Blue. Like parasites, we're looking for hosts for upcoming carnivals, so contact Mark if you are interested. This was my first attempt at hosting. Do I get a pat on the back?

Comments

[Ken Peterson]

A generous pat on the back and a hearty hug from California! (And tickle Eunice under whatever passes for her chin....)

[Mark Powell]

Thanks for hosting Mark! Your Daily Kos posts help get oceans on the big screen, so thanks also for that!!

Mark Powell

[Miriam]

You DO get a pat on the back, and also a delicious Chilean sea bass cookie. Thank you!

[Shamrock]

Great job! The picture of you and Eunice is great, the photographer did a wonderful job!!!! ;-)

[Sarah / WaterNotes]

And to think the aquarium folks usually flip out over little 2" vibrant pink bristle worms. Yeesh that is a huge one!